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- 3. Insight Report
The Global Enabling
Trade Report 2014
Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz
Thierry Geiger
Sean Doherty
Editors
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 4. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 is published by
the World Economic Forum within the framework of the
Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network and
the Supply Chain and Transportation Industry Partnership.
The terms country, economy and nation as used in the
Report do not in all cases refer to a territorial entity that is
a state as understood by international law and practice.
The terms cover well-defined, geographically self-
contained economic areas that may not be states but for
which statistical data are maintained on a separate and
independent basis.
World Economic Forum
Geneva
Copyright © 2014
by the World Economic Forum
Published by the World Economic Forum
www.weforum.org
Al rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, storied in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, or otherwise without the prior permission of
the World Economic Forum.
ISBN-10: 92-95044-53-3
ISBN-13: 978-92-95044-53-1
This publication is printed on paper suitable for recycling
and made from fully managed and sustained forest
sources.
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 5. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 | iii
Contributors v
Preface vii
by Espen Barth Eide (World Economic Forum)
Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014 1
by Attilio Di Battista, Sean Doherty, Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz and Thierry Geiger
(World Economic Forum)
Chapter 2: Latin America and the Caribbean in South-South Trade: 27
Trade Performance and Main Obstacles to Developing Trade
by Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz (World Economic Forum) and Antoni Estevadeordal,
Paolo Giordano and Mauricio Mesquita Moreira (Inter-American Development Bank)
How to Read the Country/Economy Profiles 45
Index of Countries/Economies 49
Country/Economy Profiles 50
Appendix A: Composition and Computation of the Enabling Trade Index 329
Appendix B: Technical Notes and Sources 331
About the Authors 337
Acknowledgments 339
Contents
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 7. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 | v
PARTNER INSTITUTES OF THE GLOBAL
COMPETITIVENESS AND BENCHMARKING NETWORK
The World Economic Forum would like to acknowledge
and thank its network of over 160 Partner Institutes, which
help administer the Executive Opinion Survey around the
world. The Survey provides invaluable data for the production
of this Report. The full list of Partner Institutes is available at
http://wef.ch/partnerinstitutes2013.
DATA PROVIDERS
The World Economic Forum would like to thank the following
experts and their respective organizations for providing
privileged access to their data and for their guidance, without
which the production of this Report would not have been
possible:
At the Global Express Association
Carlos Grau Tanner, Director General
At the International Trade Centre (ITC)
Jean-François Bourque, Senior Legal Advisor, Business
Environment Section, Division of Business and Institutional
Support
Mondher Mimouni, Chief, Market Analysis and Research
Xavier Pichot, Market Analyst, Market Analysis and Research
Alexander Riveros, Trade Law Associate Expert, Business
Environment Section, Division of Business and Institutional
Support
At the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD)
Bismark Sitorus, Economic Affairs Officer, Trade Facilitation
Section, Trade Logistics Branch, Division on Technology and
Logistics
Jan Hoffmann, Chief, Trade Facilitation Section, Trade
Logistics Branch, Division on Technology and Logistics
At the World Bank
Christina Busch, Trade Logistics & Facilitation, International
Trade Unit
We thank Michael Fisher for his excellent editing work and
Neil Weinberg for his superb graphic design and layout.
AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
Professor Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman
Espen Barth Eide, Managing Director
Jennifer Blanke, Senior Director, Chief Economist
John Moavenzadeh, Senior Director, Mobility Industries
Editors
Sean Doherty, Director, Head of Supply Chain and
Transport Industries
Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Lead Economist,
Director, Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking
Network
Thierry Geiger, Economist, Associate Director,
Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking
Network
Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network
Beñat Bilbao-Osorio, Senior Economist, Associate Director
Ciara Browne, Associate Director
Gemma Corrigan, Project Associate
Roberto Crotti, Quantitative Economist, Manager
Attilio Di Battista, Junior Quantitative Economist, Senior
Associate
Gaëlle Dreyer, Project Associate
Caroline Galvan, Economist, Manager
Tania Gutknecht, Community Manager, Manager
Cecilia Serin, Team Coordinator, Senior Associate
Mobility Industries
Francesca Bianchi, Coordinator, Mobility Industries
Jieun Chung, Senior Manager, Supply Chain & Transport
Industries
OTHER KEY CONTRIBUTORS
At the Inter-American Development Bank
Antoni Estevadeordal, Manager, Integration and Trade Sector
Paolo Giordano, Principal Economist, Trade and Integration
Sector
Mauricio Mesquita Moreira, Principal Economic Advisor and
Research Coordinator, Integration and Trade Sector
At the World Bank
Jean-François Arvis, Senior Transport Economist, Trade
Logistics & Facilitation, International Trade Unit
Cecilia Briceño-Garmendia, Lead Economist, Sustainable
Development Department, Latin America and the Caribbean
Region
Harry Moroz, Infrastructure Specialist, Sustainable Development
Department, Latin America and the Caribbean Region
Anasuya Raj, Consultant, International Trade Unit
At Developing Trade Consultants Ltd.
Ben Shepherd, Principal
Contributors
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 9. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 | vii
The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 is launched at
a time of restored hope for global trade. After several
difficult years trying to advance the Doha Round, the Bali
package, which was agreed to just a few months ago,
and which has the Trade Facilitation Agreement at its
centre, has the potential to enable progress on many of
the practical obstacles faced by businesses. This is good
news as the alternative to progress via a global trade
regime is a proliferation of regional or inter-regional trade
agreements, which could lead to compartmentalization
of norms and rules in the international trade system.
However, real-world impact will come only with
implementation of the negotiated measures. The 2014
Enabling Trade Index presented in this Report therefore
sets a benchmark to assess trade facilitation reforms
agreed to in Bali. We hope to see significant advances
by the time we launch the 2016 edition of this Report.
The World Economic Forum will continue to support
public-private co-operation and dialogue towards this
goal, focusing on practical steps to overcome trade
barriers of many forms.
National trade policy has become more complex;
it is no longer largely about tariff reduction. Decision-
making is less straightforward, requiring collaboration
among stakeholders as well as coalitions of government
departments, outsourced providers, infrastructure
investors and digital expertise. At the same time, the
rise of global value chains makes the prize bigger. The
success of many countries that punch above their weight
in the Enabling Trade Index shows what can be done.
Since the 2012 edition of the Global Enabling
Trade Report, the Forum and its partner companies,
together with selected governments, have sought to
better understand the value of trade facilitation and how
to make it happen. The Valuing Growth Opportunities
study reported that reducing even a restricted set
of trade barriers halfway to the level of global best
practices would yield close to a five percent increase in
global GDP. Developing regions and smaller enterprises
would see the largest gains. To achieve these gains,
governments would need to take a more supply-chain
focused approach to trade reform, both in international
coordination and domestic action.
From Valuation to Action, another output from the
Forum’s Enabling Trade programme, points specifically
to broader benefits of reducing supply-chain barriers to
society at large. These include a minimization of food
waste, a major challenge to sustainably feed the world’s
growing population. Reciprocally, gaining the support
of a cohesive industrial sector, such as automotive
manufacturers, can be an effective tool in securing trade
facilitation reforms.
Our experience from working with business and
governments to foster change is that trade in goods
has indeed become intricately intertwined with cross-
border investment, trade in services and the international
movement of workers. During the lifetime of this Report
series, we have seen the global trade reform narrative
shift strongly to addressing border management
concerns. A newly emerging emphasis is on behind-
the-border issues, with modularity and replicability as
key criteria for companies seeking to trade and invest.
The world is now faced with both the implementation
challenge stemming from Bali and, for more advanced
economies, the question of “what’s next for twenty-first
century trade facilitation?”
The Enabling Trade index provides a reminder of
the fundamental attributes that govern a nation’s ability
to benefit from trade. Since its introduction in 2008 it
has become a widely used reference, forming part of
the toolbox of many countries in their efforts to benefit
from trade and helping companies with their investment
decisions.
The Enabling Trade programme is supported by
the World Economic Forum’s Supply Chain & Transport
Industry Partnership community. We are grateful
to: A.P. Møller-Maersk, AB Volvo, Agility, Brambles
Limited, Brightstar Corp., Deutsche Post DHL, DNB
ASA, Emirates Group, International Container Terminal
Services Inc., Royal Vopak, Stena AB, Swiss International
Airlines Ltd, Transnet SOC Ltd, UPS and Volkswagen
AG.
We also thank our Data Partners for making
data available: the Global Express Association, the
International Air Transport Association, the International
Trade Centre, the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development, The World Bank, the World Customs
Organization and the World Trade Organization.
Appreciation goes also to World Economic
Forum team members Francesca Bianchi, Jennifer
Blanke, Jieun Chung, Attilio Di Battista, Sean Doherty,
Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Thierry Geiger and John
Moavenzadeh.
Finally, this Report would not have been possible
without the support of our network of over 160 Partner
Institutes worldwide that carry out the Executive Opinion
Survey, which is a critical input into this work.
Preface
ESPEN BARTH EIDE
Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board
World Economic Forum
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 11. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 | 1
CHAPTER 1
The Enabling Trade Index
2014
ATTILIO DI BATTISTA
SEAN DOHERTY
MARGARETA DRZENIEK HANOUZ
THIERRY GEIGER
World Economic Forum
In December 2013, the 159 members of the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) adopted the so-called “Bali
Package” during the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference.
The culmination of nine years of negotiations, the
package contains a series of measures to streamline
trade, allow developing countries more options for
providing food security, boost least-developed countries’
trade and help development more generally. The
adoption of the package has instilled new momentum
into the troubled multilateral trading system (MTS), at a
time when international governance in general continues
to struggle.
As part of the Bali Package, WTO members
adopted the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which
contains provisions for faster and more efficient customs
procedures through effective cooperation between
customs and other appropriate authorities on trade
facilitation and customs compliance issues. It also
contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity
building (see Box 1).
Since the success in Bali, trade facilitation has
been high on the agenda of governments, businesses
and development partners. The heightened interest
represents a window of opportunity for policymakers,
especially in developing countries, to push through
trade-enabling measures. As the conclusion of the
full Doha Development Agenda remains a distant
prospect and in absence of real progress in market
access negotiations, these measures represent a way
of reaping important benefits of trade. In this context,
The Global Enabling Trade Report provides a tool for the
international trade community to monitor progress on
implementing these measures.
The measures include not only those related to
market access, such as tariffs and nontariff barriers,
but also those that facilitate trade at the more practical
level, with more efficient border administration, better
infrastructure and telecommunications and improved
regulatory and security regimes that secure property
rights and reduce transactions costs. The empirical
literature offers ample evidence of the importance
of these factors (see Box 2). For instance, research
suggests that the quality of logistics, connectivity and
border administration plays an equally, if not more
important role than tariffs in determining bilateral trade
costs (see Box 6).
Reducing trade barriers enables trade and thereby
contributes to prosperity and welfare through various
channels (see Box 2). It is one of the objectives of
this Report to convey this important message. After
much debate, the nexus between trade and growth,
and in turn between growth and poverty reduction, is
now widely accepted (Bhagwati, 2013). For the United
Nations’ Open Working Group tasked with formulating
the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, trade
represents an important means of eradicating extreme
poverty and achieving sustainability (United Nations,
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 12. Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
2 | The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014
GLOBAL AGENDA COUNCIL ON TRADE AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT1
Following the founding of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT) in 1947, tariff and quota barriers to mer-
chandise trade were slashed, while advances in transportation
and communications eroded the real costs of moving goods
across borders. These successes have turned the spotlight
to less obvious impediments, especially administrative and
logistical hassles. The crowning achievement of the Ninth WTO
Ministerial Conference, held in Bali in December 2013, was the
Trade Facilitation Agreement, aimed at reducing such hassles.
The agreement has two sections. Section I includes pro-
visions for expediting the movement, release and clearance
of goods. It clarifies and improves articles V, VIII and X of the
GATT 1994 and is composed of thirteen articles that cover the
following issues:
1. Publication and availability of information
2. Opportunity to comment, information before entry
into force and consultation
3. Advance rulings
4. Appeal or review procedures
5. Other measures to enhance impartiality,
non-discrimination and transparency
6. Disciplines on fees and charges imposed or on
in connection with importation and exportation
7. Release and clearance of goods
8. Border agency cooperation
9. Movements of goods under customs control
intended for import
10. Formalities connected with the importation and
exportation and transit
11. Freedom of transit
12. Customs cooperation
13. Institutional arrangements
Section 2 includes special and differential treatment for
developing and least-developed countries to implement the
agreement. The extent and timing of implementation of each of
the provisions is related to a country’s implementation capac-
ity. Accordingly, each country will decide which provisions to
implement immediately after entry into force (Category A), after
a transitional period (Category B) or after a transitional period
and implementation capacity has been acquired through the
provision of assistance and support to build capacity.
Based on calculations published by Hufbauer and Schott
(2013), the agreement could deliver $1 trillion of GDP gains to
the world economy.
How does this claim stand up? Zaki (2014) offers the lat-
est estimates, using a computable general equilibrium (CGE)
framework to calculate the potential gains from trade facilita-
tion.2
The author’s first step was to convert a country’s admin-
istrative barriers, measured by the time required for imports
and exports to clear the border, into an ad valorem tariff
equivalent (AVE) figure. Unsurprisingly, crossing times weigh
more heavily on the landed cost of imports (a simple average
of 27.5% AVE) than on exports (14.4%). In terms of regions, the
United States and some advanced Asian economies have the
least red tape (less than 3% AVE), with the European Union not
far behind (just over 5%). However, red tape costs exceed 25%
in Sub-Saharan Africa and 30% in the Middle East.
According to Zaki’s estimates, administrative AVEs exceed
tariffs in nine of thirteen regions. Moreover, administrative
costs are “iceberg costs”; that is, all the resources spent on
overcoming administrative barriers are simply lost, rather than
gathered in government coffers like a tariff. In light of these
two observations, it is not surprising that the author finds that
halving trade facilitation costs could deliver nearly ten times the
benefit as halving tariffs. In Table 1, we report Zaki’s percent-
age gains and convert those gains into 2005 US$.
Based on Zaki’s estimates, ambitious improvements in
trade facilitation could add nearly 1.8% to global GDP in the
long run—some US$ 1.2 trillion by 2020. Sub-Saharan African
countries could see their exports rise by 22.3%, while Latin
American and Asian exports grow by 16.2%. EU exports could
increase by 10.6%, largely because many Eastern European
countries are buried in red tape. Exports from the rest of the
developed world increase modestly, with US and Japanese
exports increasing by 3.9% and 2.1%, respectively.
Notes
1 See the About the Authors section at the end of the Report for the
list of Council Members.
2 Earlier efforts at quantification are reported in Hufbauer and Schott
(2013) and the World Bank and World Economic Forum (2013).
References
Fouré, J., A. Bénassy-Quéré and L. Fontagné. 2010. “The World
Economy in 2050: A Tentative Picture”. CEPII Working paper 2010-
27. Paris: CEPII.
Hufbauer, G., Clyde and J. J. Schott. 2013. “Payoff from the World
Trade Agenda”. Peter G. Peterson Institute for International
Economics. Washington, DC.
World Bank. 2013. World Development Indicators database.
Washington, DC.
World Economic Forum. 2013. “Enabling Trade Valuing Growth
Opportunities”. Geneva.
Zaki, C. “An empirical assessment of the trade facilitation initiative:
econometric evidence and global economic effects”. In World
Trade Review, 2014, 13: 103–130.
Box 1: The Bali Package and Potential Gains from Trade Facilitation
Table 1: Estimates of the gains by 2020 brought about
by improved trade facilitation
GDP gains* Export gains†
Country/Region Percent US$ billions Percent US$ billions
Australia and New Zealand 1.29 7 8.00 8
Brazil 0.37 5 4.38 7
Canada 1.41 22 5.00 20
China 1.45 124 8.83 187
Egypt 2.24 5 8.83 2
European Union 2.04 348 10.60 629
India 0.91 21 9.56 35
Japan –0.12 –6 2.10 15
Korea, Rep. 2.18 29 8.18 52
Mexico 2.47 33 11.79 49
Middle East 5.66 30 13.66 22
North Africa 4.44 15 11.21 14
Other Africa 7.28 47 22.28 46
Other Asia 7.97 283 16.18 211
Other Europe and Turkey 3.75 36 15.04 49
Other Latin America
and the Caribbean 3.07 40 16.20 40
Russian Federation 2.83 35 7.88 25
South Africa 3.36 13 17.93 16
United States 0.55 90 3.90 61
Total 1.78 1,177 8.23 1,488
Sources: Zaki (2014), CEPII (2010) and World Bank (2013).
Note: All US$ amounts expressed in 2005 prices.
*Zaki (2014) reports welfare gains, which include net income transfers, rather than GDP
gains. The two are close for most countries.
† Dollar export gains are calculated based on 2012 merchandise exports to GDP ratios
from the World Development Indicators. The figures include intra–regional exports,
where applicable.
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 13. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 | 3
Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
Box 2: The Gains of Trade-Enabling Measures
As countries and international negotiations increasingly focus
on trade facilitation, researchers have turned their attention
to assessing the impact of such trade-enabling measures
on trade and welfare, generally finding a significant positive
relationship.
The OECD’s Moïsé and Sorescu (2013) use sixteen Trade
Facilitation Indicators (TFIs) to assess how improvements in
different aspects of trade facilitation could lower trade costs
and increase trade volumes. Their study is particularly useful
as the TFIs largely mirror the articles of the Trade Facilitation
Agreement adopted in Bali in December 2013 (still under
negotiation at the time the paper was written). The authors
find the following specific measures to have the largest overall
impact on trade: improving information availability; expediting
border formalities in terms of necessary documents, process
automation and simplification of procedures; enhancing the
transparency and the governance of customs authorities.
Hoekman and Shepherd (2013) focus on the
distributional effects of trade facilitation, assessing whether
large “lead” firms capture most of the benefits accruing to
the actors operating along global value chains (GVC). This
has important implications in terms of efficiency and equality,
both within and across countries, since most “lead” firms are
directly or indirectly controlled by large corporations based
in developed countries. Using firm-level data from the World
Bank Enterprise Surveys, the authors explore whether, in
the presence of increased trade facilitation, the percentage
of sales generated by direct exports increases more among
larger firms (average time to export as indicated by firms has
been used as a proxy for trade facilitation). According to their
findings, trade facilitation benefits all actors within the global
value chain, and there is no evidence of significant differences
according to firm size.
The ongoing negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership Agreement (TPPA) has also spurred further
research on the potential impact of trade facilitation.
The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR, 2013)
estimated the potential economic gains given by the TTIP
under different scenarios. The most comprehensive and
ambitious version of the agreement, corresponding to a full
elimination of tariffs, a 25% decrease of non-tariff barriers
(NTBs) on both goods and services and a 50% reduction of
NTBs on procurement, would result in a permanent increase
of annual GDP of about US$ 95 billion for the United States,
US$ 119 billion for the European Union and US$ 99 billion for
the rest of the world. The reduction of NTBs could account
for as much as 80% of these economic gains.
Petri et al. (2011) have estimated that annual global
GDP could increase by as much as US$ 104 billion thanks to
the implementation of the TPPA. This figure would increase
to US$ 862 billion if trade liberalization went as far as
establishing a Free Trade Area in Asia-Pacific. Vietnam, Hong
Kong SAR, Russia and Malaysia would benefit the most from
this scenario.
The gains of trade-enabling measures are multiple and
far reaching, extending beyond trade and contributing to
broader development objectives. These include:
• Export competitiveness. Reducing trade costs and lead
times make local firms more competitive in international
markets. This increases the likelihood that existing
exporting firms will survive and that new firms will start
exporting.
• Private sector development and foreign direct
investment. Lower trade costs and entry barriers attract
foreign direct investors, thus creating jobs and providing
local producers and consumers with more and better
products.
• Market integration. As trade costs fall, it is easier for
economies to integrate regionally. And, unlike preferential
trade agreements (PTA), which may under certain
circumstances lead to trade diversion, most aspects
of trade facilitation benefit every actor along the supply
chain, be it domestic or foreign, within or outside the PTA.
• Economic growth and employment. Trade facilitation
represents an opportunity to stimulate growth and
employment through additional investment in transport
and trade-related infrastructure.
• Finally, most trade-enabling measures have positive
spillover effects. Improvements in one area can lead to
improvement in others. For instance, reducing the number
of documents required to trade goods is likely to reduce
processing times and to limit room for corruption and
discretionary measures. Automation of certain procedures
or publishing on the Internet customs regulations will yield
similar effects.
References
Centre for Economic Policy Research. 2013. “Reducing Transatlantic
Barriers to Trade and Investment. An Economic Assessment.”
London.
Hoekman, B. and Shepherd B. 2013. “Who Profits from Trade
Facilitation Initiatives”. ARTNet Working Paper No. 129.
Moïsé, E. and S. Sorescu. 2013. “Trade Facilitation Indicators: The
Potential Impact of Trade Facilitation on Developing Countries’
Trade”. OECD Trade Policy Papers, No. 144. Paris: OECD.
Petri, P. A., M. G. Plummer, and F. Zhai. 2011. “The Trans-Pacific
Partnership and Asia-Pacific Integration: A Quantitative Assessment”.
East-West Center Working Papers – Economic Series, No. 119.
Honolulu: East-West Center.
2014). Since 2008, throughout the Great Recession
and in its aftermath, trade has contributed to averting
a deeper crisis, as countries around the world have
resisted protectionism. Today, as the world is grappling
with economic uncertainty, geopolitical upheaval, social
tensions and humanitarian crises, trade remains a vector
of peace, development, prosperity and opportunity.
THE ENABLING TRADE INDEX
The Global Enabling Trade Report (GETR) series has
been published by the World Economic Forum since
2008, initially on an annual basis, and biennially since
2010. From the beginning, the assessment has been
based on the Enabling Trade Index (ETI). The index was
developed within the context of the World Economic
Forum’s Enabling Trade program, with the help of leading
academia and partner organizations and companies,
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 14. Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
4 | The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014
including A.P. Möller Maersk, AB Volvo, Agility, Brightstar
Corp., Deutsche Post DHL, DNB ASA, Emirates Group,
International Container Terminal Services Inc., Royal
Vopak, Stena AB, Swiss International Airlines Ltd,
Transnet SOC Ltd, UPS and Volkswagen AG.
The ETI assesses the extent to which economies
have in place institutions, policies, infrastructures and
services facilitating the free flow of goods over borders
and to their destination. This set of trade-enabling factors
are organized in four main categories (or subindexes):
market access, border administration, infrastructure and
operating environment. Thus, the scope of the ETI is
much broader than trade facilitation as conceived by most
international organizations (see Box 3).
The ETI Framework
As a composite indicator, the ETI is a compilation of
individual indicators into a single index, on the basis
of the underlying ETI framework. The framework has
evolved since its inception. This evolution has been
driven by the availability of new indicators, feedback
collected over the years, and evidence from theoretical
and empirical literature.
The ETI framework captures the various dimensions
of enabling trade, breaking them into four overall issue
areas, called subindexes:
A. Market access. This subindex measures the extent
and complexity of a country’s tariff regime, as well
as tariff barriers faced and preferences enjoyed by a
country’s exporters in foreign markets.
B. Border administration. This subindex assesses
the quality, transparency and efficiency of border
administration of a country.
C. Infrastructure. This subindex assesses the
availability and quality of transport infrastructure of
a country, associated services, and communication
infrastructure, necessary to facilitate the movement
of goods within the country and across the border.
D. Operating environment. This subindex measures
the quality of key institutional factors impacting the
business of importers and exporters active in a
country.
These four areas are in turn subdivided into
components, called pillars, that capture more specific
aspects within their respective broad issue areas.
Each of them is composed of a number of indicators.
Figure 1 describes the ETI framework, while Appendix
A at the end of this Report details the composition and
computation of the ETI. The seven pillars each measure
critical aspects of enabling trade.
The Market access subindex is composed of two
pillars:
• Pillar 1: Domestic market access (6 indicators).
The pillar assesses the level and complexity of a
country’s tariff protection as a result of its trade
policy. This component includes the effective
trade-weighted average tariff applied by a country,
the share of goods imported duty free and the
complexity of the tariff regime, measured through
tariff variance, the prevalence of tariff peaks and
specific tariffs, and the number of distinct tariffs.
• Pillar 2: Foreign market access (2 indicators).
The pillar assesses tariff barriers faced by a
country’s exporters in destination markets. It
includes the average tariffs faced by the country
as well as the margin of preference in destination
markets negotiated through bilateral or regional
trade agreements or granted in the form of trade
preferences.
The Border administration subindex is composed of a
single pillar:
• Pillar 3: Efficiency and transparency of
border administration (11 indicators). The
pillar assesses the efficiency and transparency of
border administration. More specifically, it captures
efficiency, transparency and costs associated
with importing and exporting goods. It includes
an assessment of the range and quality and
comprehensiveness of key services offered by
customs and related agencies, the average time,
costs and number of documents required to,
respectively, import and export goods. The pillar
also assesses the time predictability of border
procedures, as well as the transparency of the
process, as measured by the availability and quality
of information provided by border agencies and the
prevalence of corruption.
The Infrastructure subindex is composed of three
pillars:
• Pillar 4: Availability and quality of transport
infrastructure (7 indicators). This pillar measures
the availability and quality of domestic infrastructure
for each of the four main modes of transport:
road, air, railroad and sea port infrastructures. Air
connectivity and sea line connectivity are also
assessed.
• Pillar 5: Availability and quality of transport
services (6 indicators). A necessary complement
to the previous one, this pillar assesses the
availability and quality of transport services,
including the presence and competencies of
shipping and logistics companies in the country,
and the ease, cost and timeliness of shipment. In
addition, this pillar includes a measure of postal
efficiency.
• Pillar 6: Availability and use of ICTs (7 indicators).
This pillar evaluates the availability and quality
of information and communication technologies
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 15. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 | 5
Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
(ICTs) in a country, as proxied by the use of mobile
telephony and Internet by the population at large,
by companies for business transactions, and by
the government for interacting with citizens. It also
takes into account the quality of Internet access, as
broadband access has become the norm to fully
leverage the potential of the Internet.
Finally, the Operating environment subindex is
composed of a single pillar:
• Pillar 7: Operating environment (17 indicators).
This pillar assesses the quality of a country’s
operating environment, which significantly impacts
the capacity of companies that export, import, trade
and/or transport merchandise to do business. It
assesses a country’s level of protection of property
rights; the quality and impartiality of its public
institutions, including of the judiciary in commercial
disputes; the availability of finance, including trade
finance; its openness to foreign participation in
terms of foreign investment and labour; as well as
the level of physical security approximated by the
incidence of crime and terrorism.
Pillar scores are computed as the arithmetic mean
of the composing individual indicators, which are first
transformed on a common scale ranging from 1 to 7,
with 7 indicating the best possible outcome. Subindex
scores correspond to the arithmetic means of the
respective comprising pillars. Consequently, subindex
and overall scores always range from 1 to 7.
Box 3: Various Definitions of Trade Facilitation
All international organizations recognize that trade
performance depends on many more factors than trade
policy alone. This set of additional factors is often regrouped
under the heading of trade facilitation. The scope of trade
facilitation differs across organizations active in this field.
The ETI takes a more holistic approach by considering all
trade-enabling measures. For the sake of comparison, we
summarize the approach of various international organisations
to trade facilitation:
• World Trade Organization. The WTO defines trade
facilitation as “the simplification and harmonisation of
international trade procedures” covering the “activities,
practices and formalities involved in collecting, presenting,
communicating and processing data required for the
movement of goods in international trade.” In the Doha
Development Agenda, trade facilitation negotiations
focus on freedom of transit, fees and formalities
related to importing and exporting and transparency of
trade regulations – which essentially relates to border
procedures such as customs and port procedures and
transport formalities.1
• European Commission. The Commission defines trade
facilitation as the simplification and harmonization of
international trade procedures including import and export
procedures, which largely refer to the activities (practices
and formalities) involved in collecting, presenting,
communicating and processing the data required for the
movement of goods in international trade.2
• Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development. For the OECD, trade facilitation is about
streamlining and simplifying international trade procedures
in order to allow for easier flow of goods and trade at
both national and international level.3
• United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development. For UNCTAD, any measure that eases a
trade transaction and leads to time and cost reductions
in the transaction cycle fits into the category of trade
facilitation. The latter can be effected through more
efficient procedures and operations or through removing
any deadweight economic loss and redundancies.
It may cover measures regarding: (a) formalities,
procedures and documents and the use of standard
and electronic messages for trade transactions; (b) the
physical movement of goods through improvements
in services, the legal framework, and the transport
and communications infrastructure, as well as the use
of modern information technology tools by services
providers and users; and (c) the timely discussion and
dissemination of trade-related information to all concerned
parties.4
• World Customs Organization. For the WCO trade
facilitation amounts to the avoidance of unnecessary trade
restrictiveness. This can be achieved by applying modern
techniques and technologies, while improving the quality
of controls in an internationally harmonized manner.5
• World Bank. The term trade facilitation refers to a series
of complex, border and behind-border measures. Broadly
defined, these measures include anything from institutional
and regulatory reform to customs and port efficiency and
are inherently far more intricate and costly to implement.
The Bank’s areas of focus are: infrastructure investment;
customs modernization and border-crossing environment;
streamlining of documentary requirements and information
flows; automation and electronic data interchange (EDI);
ports efficiency; logistics and transport services; regulation
and competitiveness; transit and multimode transport;
and transport security.6
Notes
1 See http://gtad.wto.org/trta_subcategory.aspx?cat=33121.
2 See http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs/policy_issues/
trade_falicitation/index_en.htm.
3 See http://www.oecd.org/tad/facilitation/whatistradefacilitation.htm.
4 See http://unctad.org/en/Docs/sdtetlb20051_en.pdf.
5 See http://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/facilitation/overview/
customs-procedures-and-facilitation.aspx.
6 See http://go.worldbank.org/QWGE7JNJG0.
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 16. Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
6 | The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014
Since the pilot edition in 2008, the methodology
of the ETI has evolved. The framework was revamped
in 2009 based on the feedback received. The
methodology remained essentially unchanged in the
two subsequent editions (2010 and 2012). For the 2014
edition—the fifth in the series—we have introduced a
number of innovations and methodological changes
to further improve the soundness of the framework
and increase its relevance as a policy tool. As a result
of this modernization effort, the results are not strictly
comparable over time. While the four subindexes
have been maintained, the number of pillars has
been reduced from nine to seven. We have added a
number of indicators, thus allowing for a more granular
analysis, and excluded several, mostly within the
operating environment subindex, that were not directly
linked to enabling trade. We believe that the significant
improvements to the methodology offset the costs
associated with the loss of comparability over time.
Despite these latest improvements, it was not
possible to fully cover some key concepts relevant to
enabling trade due to a lack of data (see Box 4). We
hope to fill these gaps in future editions of the ETI.
Data
The 56 indicators used in the ETI are sourced from
various organizations, several of which provided
guidance and support in designing the ETI framework,
creating new indicators or providing privileged or
advanced access to their proprietary datasets.
The International Trade Centre, the Global Express
Association, the World Bank, the World Trade
Organization and UNCTAD are among the long-standing
partners of the project.1
In addition, 23 indicators, accounting for 36% of the
ETI score, are derived from the World Economic Forum’s
Executive Opinion Survey (EOS).2
The Forum has
conducted the EOS annually for over 30 years, making
it one of the longest-running and most extensive global
surveys on the business environment.3
The 2013 edition
of the EOS gathered the opinion of 13,000 respondents
from 148 economies. The EOS results are used in the
computation of the Enabling Trade Index and other
Forum indexes, including the Global Competitiveness
Index, the Networked Readiness Index, the Travel &
Tourism Competitiveness Index and the Gender Gap
Index, as well as in a number of regional studies. In
addition, the EOS data has long served a number of
international and local organizations, government bodies,
academia, as well as the private sector to inform policy
work, strategies and investment decisions.
In terms of coverage, among the 7,728 individual
data points used for the computation of the ETI 2014 (i.e.
138 economies times 56 individual indicators), only 102
(1.3%) are missing.
Subindex C.
Infrastructure
Subindex B.
Border
administration
Subindex A.
Market access
Figure 1: The Enabling Trade Index Framework
FOREIGN MARKET
Imports
Exports
Exports
Imports
DOMESTIC MARKET
Subindex D.
Operating environment
Pillar 7. Operating environment
Pillar 5.
Availability
and quality
of transport
services
Pillar 3.
Efficiency and
transparency
of border
administration
Pillar 4.
Availability
and quality
of transport
infrastructure
Pillar 6.
Availability
and use
of ICTs
Pillar 1.
Domestic
market access
Pillar 2.
Foreign
market access
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 17. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 | 7
Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
Country Coverage
For the 2014 edition, coverage increased from 132 to
138 economies, which together account for 98.8% of
world GDP and 98.3% of world merchandise trade.4
Bhutan, Gabon, Guinea, Lao PDR, Liberia, Libya, Malta
and Myanmar are covered for the first time, while we
had to exclude Syria and Tajikistan, two countries where
it was not possible to administer the EOS, which is a
key data component of the ETI. Data availability is the
key factor driving coverage expansion. Among the 138
economies, 85 (62%) have data for all 56 indicators.
A further 40 (29%) are missing one or two data points
across the entire Index. The remaining 13 economies are
missing three or four data points.
Box 4. The Enabling Trade Index Framework: the Road Ahead
Governments and institutions increasingly recognize the
importance of trade and trade facilitation to foster economic
growth and welfare. However, negotiations and policies are
too often based on partial, unreliable or outdated information.
Gaps subsist in the availability of reliable and timely data
for informing trade policies and assessing their impact.
The lack of data is regretful not only for the purpose of this
research, but in general for the analysis of trade policy and
trade facilitation initiatives. By compiling a rich data set and
making it readily available, we hope to contribute to filling this
information gap. At the same time, we stress the importance
of efforts to improve data quality, collection processes and
statistical capacity. Below is a non-exhaustive list of concepts
that we hope to cover or capture more accurately in future
iterations of the ETI to further increase its relevance.
Non-tariff measures
The absence of a comprehensive, rigorous and global
measure of non-tariff measures (NTMs) is probably the most
striking gap. The assessment of NTMs should not stop at the
border, but also focus on behind-the-border measures, such
as product standards, conformity assessment regulations and
subsidies. The International Trade Centre (ITC) is engaged in
an effort to collect data for the elaboration of an indicator on
the presence of NTMs affecting international trade. Having
to rely on surveys by experts in the field, the process is
inevitably slow and extremely costly. The ITC is not yet in
the position of providing an updated data set with a global
coverage. The renewed interest for trade facilitation following
the Bali agreement could encourage further efforts to collect
comprehensive data on NTMs.
Infrastructure and connectivity
Enabling trade goes beyond facilitating trade at the borders.
Improving the quality of infrastructure and the connectivity
with the rest of the world is fundamental in order to increase a
country’s integration into the global trade system and supply
chains. Currently, indicators usually focus on narrow aspects
of domestic infrastructure, without assessing the quality
and depth of a country’s connectivity (both domestic and
international). The Air Connectivity Index (ACI) measures the
extent to which a country is connected to the international air
transport network (Arvis and Shepherd, 2011). The ACI is still
a pilot, but when finalized it will be considered for inclusion
in replacement of indicator 4.01, available international airline
seats kilometres. A similar approach could be applied to
other hub-and-spoke transport systems. The Transshipment
Connectivity Index (TCI) and the Liner Shipping Connectivity
Index (LSCI), produced by UNCTAD, represent an important
step in this direction. The LSCI is included in the ETI as
indicator 4.04.1
In 2013, the World Bank published a quantitative analysis
of bilateral agreements for the liberalization of international
road freight transport (Kunaka et al., 2013). The study
provides a methodological basis for future country-level
assessments of the barriers and costs for cross-border freight
cargo, and it could be applied to road transport and other
modes of transport. This approach provides a good way
for analysing governments’ efforts to liberalize international
transport services and therefore enable trade. It has the
additional benefit of not being outcome-based. While the
intensity of cross-border activities between two countries
depends on a wide range of economic, political, geographic
and cultural factors, analysing existing international
agreements provides an indication of whether governments
have set up a sound legal and regulatory framework for the
provision of international transport services.
As for domestic connectivity – to the best of our
knowledge – no organization has so far elaborated a
comprehensive and coherent measure of the quality of
infrastructure at the country level.2
Consequently, we
currently rely mostly on data from the Executive Opinion
Survey, complemented in the case of road infrastructure by
World Bank data on the percentage of paved roads within
each country.
Barriers to trade in services
An efficient, global market for services is a powerful enabler
of merchandise trade. This applies not only to transportation
services, but more generally to all professional services
(which are among the most protected) as well as retail,
telecommunications and finance. The World Bank and the
OECD have recently launched the Services Trade Restrictions
Database, compiling information on barriers to services
trade for 103 countries and constructing Services Trade
Restrictions Indexes (STRIs) at the country and country-sector
level (Borchert et al., 2012). As coverage expands we hope to
include data from the STRIs in the ETI.
Notes
1 In consultation with UNCTAD, given the very high correlation
between the LSCI and TCI, we decided to include only the LSCI in
the ETI.
2 While aggregate measures of infrastructure quality exist for specific
groups of countries, none of them covers a sufficient number of the
138 countries analysed by this report
References
Arvis J.F. and B. Shepherd. 2011. “The Air Connectivity Index.
Measuring integration into the Global Air Transport Network”. World
Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series No. 5722. Washington
DC: The World Bank.
Borchert, I., B. Gootiiz and A, Mattoo. 2012. “Policy Barriers to
International Trade in Services. Evidence from a New Database”.
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series No. 6109.
Washington DC: The World Bank.
Kunaka, C. V. Tanase, P. Latrille, and P. Krausz. 2013. “Quantitative
Analysis of Road Transport Agreements (QuARTA)”. Washington DC:
The World Bank.
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 18. Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
8 | The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014
ENABLING TRADE INDEX 2014 RESULTS
Tables 1–5 present the rankings for the overall ETI,
the four subindexes, and five of the seven pillars of the
Enabling Trade Index. Rankings and scores for pillars 3
and 7 are not reported since they are the same as for
the border administration subindex and the operating
environment subindex, respectively.
General Trends
Not unexpectedly, advanced economies are better at
enabling trade than developing countries. They dominate
the ETI rankings, with 17 advanced economies among
the top 20. These countries typically enjoy lower trade
costs not only because their tariffs are low, but also
because economic development itself is intimately
associated with enhanced capabilities in administration,
infrastructure and telecommunications and regulation.
As developing countries take on a more prominent role
in the global economy and are becoming the drivers of
international trade, these issues are bound to assume
increasing significance.
Performance in the ETI largely mirrors the position
on the development ladder. A higher level of income
is typically associated with a higher ETI score (see
Figure 2). High-income countries perform systematically
better across the different pillars, with the noteworthy
exception of the foreign market access pillar, where
the relation is inversed (see Figure 4). Expectedly, low-
income countries typically enjoy better market access
conditions abroad, notably through preferential trade
agreements.5
In other pillars, the gap between advanced
economies and the developing world remains large.
Despite the strength of the relationship between
income and performance in the ETI, there are
exceptions. More open economies (as measured by
the sum of merchandise imports and exports, divided
by GDP) perform better, all else being equal. Global
trade hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, the
Netherlands, the UAE and Taiwan, as well as certain
export-led economies such as Malaysia, Thailand,
Vietnam and Cambodia, typically do better than most of
the other, more closed economies at a similar stage of
development. Figure 2 also reveals that commodity-rich
countries perform, on average, much worse than other
nations with a similar level of income. Among the 29
countries where mineral products account for more than
50% of total exports, 21 score below their respective
income group averages.6
In addition, in the four lowest-
ranked countries in the ETI (Guinea, Angola, Venezuela
and Chad, which ranks last) and 14 of the bottom 20, the
share of mineral products in total exports is above 70%.
And the worst performers in Latin America (Venezuela),
Developing Asia (Mongolia), Middle East and North
Africa (Iran), and Sub-Saharan Africa (Chad) have a share
above 70%.
Within the developing world, differences across
regions are relatively small, although some patterns
emerge (see Figure 3). Central and Eastern Europe
outperforms the other regions by a small margin in five
of the seven pillars of the index. The region is dominated
by Eastern members of the EU, namely Latvia (41st),
Lithuania (44th), and Poland (45th). At the other end of
the spectrum, the Sub-Saharan Africa region, home
1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Singapore
Kuwait
Russian Federation
LybiaAlgeria
Mongolia
Angola
Gabon
Iran, Islamic Rep.
Venezuela
Figure 2: GDP per capita and the Enabling Trade Index 2014
Sources: IMF, World Economic Outlook (October 2013 edition) and World Economic Forum.
ETI2014score(1–7)
GDP per capita (US$, log scale), 2012
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 19. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 | 9
Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
Figure 3: The Enabling Trade Index 2014: Regional averages and best performers
Note: Based on IMF classification (see Table 1).
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7. Operating
environment
6. Availability
and use of
ICTs
5. Availability
and quality
of transport
services
4. Availability
and quality
of transport
infrastructure
3. Efficiency
and transparency
of border
administration
2. Foreign
market
access
1. Domestic
market
access
ENABLING
TRADE INDEX
2014
Average of 5 best performers
Advanced Economies
Central and Eastern Europe
Commonwealth of Independent States
Developing Asia
Latin America and the Caribbean
Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan
Sub-Saharan Africa
ETI2014score(1–7)
Figure 4: The Enabling Trade Index 2014: Income group averages and best performers
Note: Based on World Bank classification (see Table 1).
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7. Operating
environment
6. Availability
and use of
ICTs
5. Availability
and quality
of transport
services
4. Availability
and quality
of transport
infrastructure
3. Efficiency
and transparency
of border
administration
2. Foreign
market
access
1. Domestic
market
access
ENABLING
TRADE INDEX
2014
Average of 5 best performers
High-income (non-OECD)
High-income (OECD)
Low-income
Lower-middle income
Upper-middle income
ETI2014score(1–7)
PILLARS
PILLARS
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 20. Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
10 | The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014
Table 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014 rankings
Country / Economy Rank Score (1–7) Region* Income†
Singapore 1 5.9 ADV HIC
Hong Kong SAR 2 5.5 ADV HIC
Netherlands 3 5.3 ADV HIC-OECD
New Zealand 4 5.2 ADV HIC-OECD
Finland 5 5.2 ADV HIC-OECD
United Kingdom 6 5.2 ADV HIC-OECD
Switzerland 7 5.2 ADV HIC-OECD
Chile 8 5.1 SA HIC-OECD
Sweden 9 5.1 ADV HIC-OECD
Germany 10 5.1 ADV HIC-OECD
Luxembourg 11 5.1 ADV HIC-OECD
Norway 12 5.1 ADV HIC-OECD
Japan 13 5.1 ADV HIC-OECD
Canada 14 5.0 ADV HIC-OECD
United States 15 5.0 ADV HIC-OECD
United Arab Emirates 16 5.0 MENAP HIC
Denmark 17 5.0 ADV HIC-OECD
Austria 18 5.0 ADV HIC-OECD
Qatar 19 4.9 MENAP HIC
Belgium 20 4.9 ADV HIC-OECD
France 21 4.9 ADV HIC-OECD
Iceland 22 4.9 ADV HIC-OECD
Australia 23 4.9 ADV HIC-OECD
Taiwan, China 24 4.9 ADV HIC
Malaysia 25 4.8 DA UMC
Ireland 26 4.8 ADV HIC-OECD
Spain 27 4.8 ADV HIC-OECD
Estonia 28 4.8 ADV HIC-OECD
Mauritius 29 4.7 SSA UMC
Korea, Rep. 30 4.7 ADV HIC-OECD
Oman 31 4.7 MENAP HIC
Israel 32 4.7 ADV HIC-OECD
Bahrain 33 4.6 MENAP HIC
Malta 34 4.6 ADV HIC
Portugal 35 4.5 ADV HIC-OECD
Georgia 36 4.5 CIS LMC
Cyprus 37 4.4 ADV HIC
Slovenia 38 4.4 ADV HIC-OECD
Czech Republic 39 4.4 ADV HIC-OECD
Jordan 40 4.4 MENAP UMC
Latvia 41 4.4 CEE HIC
Costa Rica 42 4.4 CAC UMC
Morocco 43 4.4 MENAP LMC
Lithuania 44 4.4 CEE HIC
Poland 45 4.3 CEE HIC-OECD
Turkey 46 4.3 CEE UMC
Italy 47 4.3 ADV HIC-OECD
Saudi Arabia 48 4.3 MENAP HIC
Montenegro 49 4.3 CEE UMC
Hungary 50 4.3 CEE UMC
Peru 51 4.3 SA UMC
Panama 52 4.3 CAC UMC
Armenia 53 4.3 CIS LMC
China 54 4.3 DA UMC
Slovak Republic 55 4.3 ADV HIC-OECD
Croatia 56 4.2 CEE HIC
Thailand 57 4.2 DA UMC
Indonesia 58 4.2 DA LMC
South Africa 59 4.2 SSA UMC
Uruguay 60 4.2 SA HIC
Mexico 61 4.1 CAC UMC
Guatemala 62 4.1 CAC LMC
Macedonia, FYR 63 4.1 CEE UMC
Philippines 64 4.1 DA LMC
Ecuador 65 4.1 SA UMC
Rwanda 66 4.1 SSA LIC
Greece 67 4.0 ADV HIC-OECD
Nicaragua 68 4.0 CAC LMC
Albania 69 4.0 CEE UMC
Country / Economy Rank Score (1–7) Region* Income†
Bulgaria 70 4.0 CEE UMC
El Salvador 71 4.0 CAC LMC
Vietnam 72 4.0 DA LMC
Colombia 73 4.0 SA UMC
Kuwait 74 4.0 MENAP HIC
Romania 75 3.9 CEE UMC
Tunisia 76 3.9 MENAP UMC
Azerbaijan 77 3.9 CIS UMC
Bosnia and Herzegovina 78 3.9 CEE UMC
Dominican Republic 79 3.9 CAC UMC
Jamaica 80 3.9 CAC UMC
Namibia 81 3.9 SSA UMC
Lebanon 82 3.8 MENAP UMC
Ukraine 83 3.8 CIS LMC
Sri Lanka 84 3.8 DA LMC
Honduras 85 3.8 CAC LMC
Brazil 86 3.8 SA UMC
Bolivia 87 3.7 SA LMC
Botswana 88 3.7 SSA UMC
Serbia 89 3.7 CEE UMC
Kenya 90 3.7 SSA LIC
Zambia 91 3.7 SSA LMC
Moldova 92 3.7 CIS LMC
Cambodia 93 3.7 DA LIC
Kazakhstan 94 3.7 CIS UMC
Argentina 95 3.7 SA UMC
India 96 3.6 DA LMC
Egypt 97 3.6 MENAP LMC
Lao PDR 98 3.6 DA LMC
Gambia, The 99 3.6 SSA LIC
Senegal 100 3.6 SSA LMC
Uganda 101 3.6 SSA LIC
Ghana 102 3.6 SSA LMC
Madagascar 103 3.6 SSA LIC
Guyana 104 3.6 SA LMC
Russian Federation 105 3.5 CIS HIC
Libya 106 3.5 MENAP UMC
Bhutan 107 3.5 DA LMC
Lesotho 108 3.5 SSA LMC
Kyrgyz Republic 109 3.5 CIS LIC
Mozambique 110 3.5 SSA LIC
Tanzania 111 3.5 SSA LIC
Malawi 112 3.5 SSA LIC
Paraguay 113 3.5 SA LMC
Pakistan 114 3.5 MENAP LMC
Bangladesh 115 3.4 DA LIC
Nepal 116 3.3 DA LIC
Côte d’Ivoire 117 3.3 SSA LMC
Ethiopia 118 3.2 SSA LIC
Cameroon 119 3.2 SSA LMC
Algeria 120 3.2 MENAP UMC
Myanmar 121 3.2 DA LIC
Gabon 122 3.1 SSA UMC
Mali 123 3.1 SSA LIC
Nigeria 124 3.1 SSA LMC
Haiti 125 3.1 CAC LIC
Liberia 126 3.1 SSA LIC
Benin 127 3.1 SSA LIC
Yemen 128 3.0 MENAP LMC
Mauritania 129 3.0 MENAP LMC
Mongolia 130 3.0 DA LMC
Iran, Islamic Rep. 131 3.0 MENAP UMC
Burundi 132 3.0 SSA LIC
Burkina Faso 133 2.9 SSA LIC
Zimbabwe 134 2.9 SSA LIC
Guinea 135 2.9 SSA LIC
Angola 136 2.8 SSA UMC
Venezuela 137 2.8 SA UMC
Chad 138 2.5 SSA LIC
* Region (adapted from IMF classification): ADV = Advanced economies; CAC = Central America and the Caribbean; CEE = Central and Eastern Europe; CIS = Commonwealth of Independent
States; DA = Developing Asia; MENAP = Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan; SA = South America; and SSA = Sub-Saharan Africa.
† Income group (World Bank classification): HIC-OECD = High income OECD; HIC = Other high income; UMC = Upper-middle income; LMC = Lower-middle income; and LIC = Low income.
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 21. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 | 11
Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
Table 2: Market access subindex rankings
Market access subindex
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
1 Chile 5.5
2 Singapore 5.5
3 Mauritius 5.3
4 Peru 5.0
5 Libya 4.8
6 El Salvador 4.7
7 Nicaragua 4.7
8 Costa Rica 4.7
9 Armenia 4.6
10 Honduras 4.6
11 Philippines 4.6
12 Guatemala 4.6
13 Georgia 4.6
14 Uganda 4.5
15 Malawi 4.5
16 Colombia 4.5
17 Albania 4.4
18 Mexico 4.4
19 Rwanda 4.4
20 Indonesia 4.4
21 Iceland 4.3
22 New Zealand 4.3
23 Zambia 4.3
24 Madagascar 4.3
25 Myanmar 4.3
26 Bolivia 4.3
27 Moldova 4.3
28 Macedonia, FYR 4.3
29 Mozambique 4.2
30 Ecuador 4.2
31 Tanzania 4.2
32 Kyrgyz Republic 4.2
33 Montenegro 4.2
34 Vietnam 4.2
35 Uruguay 4.1
36 Cambodia 4.1
37 Hong Kong SAR 4.1
38 Ukraine 4.1
39 Lao PDR 4.1
40 Malaysia 4.0
41 Canada 4.0
42 Kenya 4.0
43 Jordan 4.0
44 Burundi 4.0
45 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4.0
46 Namibia 4.0
47 Lesotho 3.9
48 Haiti 3.9
49 Israel 3.9
50 Croatia 3.9
51 Thailand 3.9
52 Tunisia 3.9
53 Morocco 3.8
54 Oman 3.8
55 Argentina 3.8
56 Norway 3.8
57 Bangladesh 3.8
58 Jamaica 3.8
59 Qatar 3.8
60 Lebanon 3.8
61 Nepal 3.7
62 Turkey 3.7
63 Botswana 3.7
64 Paraguay 3.6
65 Yemen 3.6
66 Azerbaijan 3.6
67 Dominican Republic 3.6
68 Guyana 3.6
69 South Africa 3.6
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
70 United States 3.5
71 Switzerland 3.5
72 Bahrain 3.5
73 Panama 3.5
74 Australia 3.4
75 Austria 3.4
75 Belgium 3.4
75 Bulgaria 3.4
75 Cyprus 3.4
75 Czech Republic 3.4
75 Denmark 3.4
75 Estonia 3.4
75 Finland 3.4
75 France 3.4
75 Germany 3.4
75 Greece 3.4
75 Hungary 3.4
75 Ireland 3.4
75 Italy 3.4
75 Latvia 3.4
75 Lithuania 3.4
75 Luxembourg 3.4
75 Malta 3.4
75 Netherlands 3.4
75 Poland 3.4
75 Portugal 3.4
75 Romania 3.4
75 Slovak Republic 3.4
75 Slovenia 3.4
75 Spain 3.4
75 Sweden 3.4
75 United Kingdom 3.4
102 Bhutan 3.4
103 Egypt 3.3
104 Sri Lanka 3.3
105 Saudi Arabia 3.3
106 Mauritania 3.3
107 Angola 3.3
108 Kazakhstan 3.2
109 United Arab Emirates 3.2
110 Brazil 3.2
111 Japan 3.2
112 Serbia 3.2
113 Kuwait 3.2
114 Ethiopia 3.2
115 Senegal 3.1
116 Mali 3.1
117 Cameroon 3.1
118 Burkina Faso 3.1
119 China 3.1
120 Korea, Rep. 3.1
121 Taiwan, China 3.0
122 Ghana 3.0
123 Chad 3.0
124 Benin 3.0
125 Côte d’Ivoire 2.9
126 Mongolia 2.9
127 Venezuela 2.9
128 Algeria 2.8
129 Gambia, The 2.8
130 Zimbabwe 2.8
131 Guinea 2.8
132 Russian Federation 2.8
133 Pakistan 2.7
134 Gabon 2.5
135 Nigeria 2.5
136 India 2.4
137 Liberia 2.2
138 Iran, Islamic Rep. 1.9
Pillar 1: Domestic market access
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
1 Hong Kong SAR 7.0
1 Libya 7.0
3 Singapore 7.0
4 Mauritius 6.1
5 New Zealand 6.1
6 Nicaragua 6.0
7 Georgia 6.0
8 Guatemala 6.0
9 Chile 5.9
10 Qatar 5.9
11 Albania 5.9
12 Armenia 5.8
13 Peru 5.8
14 El Salvador 5.7
15 Montenegro 5.7
16 Canada 5.7
17 Honduras 5.7
18 Australia 5.6
19 Philippines 5.6
20 Costa Rica 5.5
21 Iceland 5.5
22 Ukraine 5.5
23 Macedonia, FYR 5.5
24 Botswana 5.4
25 Namibia 5.4
26 Indonesia 5.4
27 United States 5.3
28 Japan 5.3
29 Israel 5.3
30 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.3
31 Croatia 5.2
32 Oman 5.2
33 Mexico 5.2
34 Turkey 5.1
35 Ecuador 5.1
36 Colombia 5.1
37 Paraguay 5.1
38 Moldova 5.0
39 Zambia 5.0
40 Taiwan, China 5.0
41 Norway 5.0
42 Rwanda 5.0
43 South Africa 5.0
44 Uruguay 4.9
45 Malawi 4.9
46 Austria 4.9
46 Belgium 4.9
46 Bulgaria 4.9
46 Cyprus 4.9
46 Czech Republic 4.9
46 Denmark 4.9
46 Estonia 4.9
46 Finland 4.9
46 France 4.9
46 Germany 4.9
46 Greece 4.9
46 Hungary 4.9
46 Ireland 4.9
46 Italy 4.9
46 Latvia 4.9
46 Lithuania 4.9
46 Luxembourg 4.9
46 Malta 4.9
46 Netherlands 4.9
46 Poland 4.9
46 Portugal 4.9
46 Romania 4.9
46 Slovak Republic 4.9
46 Slovenia 4.9
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
46 Spain 4.9
46 Sweden 4.9
46 United Kingdom 4.9
73 Uganda 4.9
74 United Arab Emirates 4.9
75 Malaysia 4.8
76 Vietnam 4.8
77 Bahrain 4.8
78 Dominican Republic 4.7
79 Yemen 4.7
80 Saudi Arabia 4.7
81 Burundi 4.7
82 Kyrgyz Republic 4.7
83 Bolivia 4.7
84 Kenya 4.6
85 Switzerland 4.6
86 Panama 4.6
87 Tanzania 4.6
88 Kuwait 4.5
89 Mozambique 4.5
90 Argentina 4.4
91 Madagascar 4.4
92 Mongolia 4.4
93 Jamaica 4.4
94 Sri Lanka 4.4
95 Azerbaijan 4.3
96 Jordan 4.3
97 Myanmar 4.3
98 China 4.2
99 Tunisia 4.2
100 Morocco 4.2
101 Lebanon 4.1
102 Lesotho 4.1
103 Haiti 4.1
104 Korea, Rep. 4.1
105 Mali 4.1
106 Ghana 4.0
107 Serbia 4.0
108 Brazil 4.0
109 Bhutan 3.9
110 Burkina Faso 3.8
111 Guyana 3.8
112 Kazakhstan 3.8
113 Thailand 3.7
114 Senegal 3.6
115 Côte d’Ivoire 3.6
116 Angola 3.6
117 Benin 3.5
118 Mauritania 3.5
119 Guinea 3.5
120 Venezuela 3.5
121 Lao PDR 3.4
122 Nigeria 3.4
123 Algeria 3.4
124 Ethiopia 3.4
125 Cameroon 3.4
126 Bangladesh 3.4
127 Russian Federation 3.3
128 Egypt 3.3
129 Liberia 3.3
130 Gambia, The 3.2
131 Pakistan 3.2
132 Gabon 3.0
133 Cambodia 2.9
134 Chad 2.9
135 India 2.9
136 Nepal 2.8
137 Zimbabwe 2.4
138 Iran, Islamic Rep. 2.4
(Cont’d.)
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 22. Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
12 | The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014
Table 2: Market access subindex rankings (cont’d.)
Pillar 2: Foreign market access
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
1 Cambodia 5.3
2 Chile 5.1
3 Nepal 4.7
4 Lao PDR 4.7
5 Mauritius 4.5
6 Myanmar 4.4
7 Bangladesh 4.2
8 Madagascar 4.2
9 Peru 4.2
10 Uganda 4.2
11 Malawi 4.1
12 Thailand 4.0
13 Singapore 3.9
14 Mozambique 3.9
15 Bolivia 3.9
16 Costa Rica 3.9
17 Tanzania 3.9
18 Colombia 3.8
19 Kyrgyz Republic 3.8
20 Rwanda 3.8
21 El Salvador 3.7
22 Haiti 3.7
23 Lesotho 3.7
24 Jordan 3.6
25 Zambia 3.6
26 Philippines 3.6
27 Honduras 3.6
28 Vietnam 3.6
29 Mexico 3.5
30 Nicaragua 3.5
31 Tunisia 3.5
32 Morocco 3.5
33 Moldova 3.5
34 Armenia 3.5
35 Lebanon 3.4
36 Ecuador 3.4
37 Indonesia 3.4
38 Kenya 3.3
39 Egypt 3.3
40 Guyana 3.3
41 Uruguay 3.3
42 Malaysia 3.3
43 Burundi 3.3
44 Argentina 3.2
45 Jamaica 3.2
46 Iceland 3.2
47 Guatemala 3.2
48 Zimbabwe 3.2
49 Georgia 3.2
50 Macedonia, FYR 3.1
51 Chad 3.1
52 Mauritania 3.0
53 Albania 3.0
54 Ethiopia 2.9
55 Angola 2.9
56 Azerbaijan 2.9
57 Bhutan 2.8
58 Cameroon 2.8
59 Kazakhstan 2.7
60 Montenegro 2.7
61 Ukraine 2.7
62 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2.7
63 Norway 2.6
64 Senegal 2.6
65 New Zealand 2.6
66 Libya 2.6
67 Yemen 2.5
68 Croatia 2.5
69 Namibia 2.5
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
70 Dominican Republic 2.5
71 Switzerland 2.5
72 Oman 2.5
73 Israel 2.4
74 Benin 2.4
75 Gambia, The 2.4
76 Canada 2.4
77 Brazil 2.4
78 Panama 2.4
79 Serbia 2.3
80 Turkey 2.3
81 Burkina Faso 2.3
82 Algeria 2.3
83 Côte d’Ivoire 2.3
84 Russian Federation 2.2
85 Sri Lanka 2.2
86 Venezuela 2.2
87 Bahrain 2.2
88 Paraguay 2.2
89 Pakistan 2.2
90 Mali 2.2
91 South Africa 2.2
92 Guinea 2.1
93 Korea, Rep. 2.0
94 India 2.0
95 Ghana 2.0
96 Gabon 1.9
97 Austria 1.9
97 Belgium 1.9
97 Bulgaria 1.9
97 Cyprus 1.9
97 Czech Republic 1.9
97 Denmark 1.9
97 Estonia 1.9
97 Finland 1.9
97 France 1.9
97 Germany 1.9
97 Greece 1.9
97 Hungary 1.9
97 Ireland 1.9
97 Italy 1.9
97 Latvia 1.9
97 Lithuania 1.9
97 Luxembourg 1.9
97 Malta 1.9
97 Netherlands 1.9
97 Poland 1.9
97 Portugal 1.9
97 Romania 1.9
97 Slovak Republic 1.9
97 Slovenia 1.9
97 Spain 1.9
97 Sweden 1.9
97 United Kingdom 1.9
124 Botswana 1.9
125 China 1.9
126 Kuwait 1.8
127 Saudi Arabia 1.8
128 United States 1.7
129 Qatar 1.7
130 United Arab Emirates 1.6
131 Nigeria 1.5
132 Mongolia 1.4
133 Iran, Islamic Rep. 1.4
134 Australia 1.2
135 Hong Kong SAR 1.2
136 Liberia 1.1
137 Taiwan, China 1.1
138 Japan 1.1
Table 3: Border administration subindex rankings
Pillar 3: Efficiency and transparency of border administration*
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
1 Singapore 6.3
2 Finland 6.2
3 Sweden 6.2
4 Netherlands 6.1
5 Japan 6.0
6 New Zealand 6.0
7 United Kingdom 6.0
8 Estonia 5.9
9 Denmark 5.9
10 Austria 5.8
11 Hong Kong SAR 5.8
12 Switzerland 5.8
13 Germany 5.8
14 Ireland 5.8
15 Luxembourg 5.8
16 Norway 5.8
17 United Arab Emirates 5.7
18 Taiwan, China 5.7
19 Korea, Rep. 5.7
20 Canada 5.7
21 United States 5.7
22 Australia 5.6
23 Belgium 5.6
24 Iceland 5.6
25 Spain 5.6
26 Chile 5.6
27 France 5.6
28 Slovenia 5.4
29 Israel 5.4
30 Latvia 5.3
31 Poland 5.2
32 Malta 5.2
33 Malaysia 5.2
34 Lithuania 5.2
35 Georgia 5.2
36 Qatar 5.2
37 Czech Republic 5.1
38 Hungary 5.1
39 Jordan 5.1
40 Oman 5.1
41 Bahrain 5.1
42 Cyprus 5.1
43 Portugal 5.0
44 Turkey 4.9
45 Morocco 4.9
46 Costa Rica 4.9
47 Italy 4.9
48 China 4.9
49 South Africa 4.8
50 Slovak Republic 4.8
51 Peru 4.7
52 Saudi Arabia 4.7
53 Mauritius 4.7
54 Montenegro 4.7
55 Panama 4.7
56 Thailand 4.7
57 Bulgaria 4.7
58 Romania 4.6
59 Greece 4.6
60 Nicaragua 4.6
61 Guatemala 4.6
62 Mexico 4.6
63 Dominican Republic 4.6
64 Ecuador 4.5
65 Croatia 4.5
66 Kuwait 4.5
67 Uruguay 4.5
68 Colombia 4.4
69 Indonesia 4.4
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
70 Albania 4.4
71 Philippines 4.3
72 Pakistan 4.3
73 Armenia 4.3
74 India 4.2
75 Senegal 4.2
76 Jamaica 4.2
77 Lebanon 4.2
78 Serbia 4.2
79 Tunisia 4.2
80 Brazil 4.2
81 Gambia, The 4.1
82 Honduras 4.1
83 Ghana 4.1
84 El Salvador 4.1
85 Macedonia, FYR 4.0
86 Vietnam 4.0
87 Sri Lanka 4.0
88 Guyana 3.9
89 Rwanda 3.9
90 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.9
91 Madagascar 3.8
92 Namibia 3.8
93 Bolivia 3.8
94 Azerbaijan 3.8
95 Liberia 3.7
96 Argentina 3.7
97 Nigeria 3.7
98 Algeria 3.7
99 Gabon 3.7
100 Ukraine 3.6
101 Kenya 3.6
102 Bhutan 3.6
103 Russian Federation 3.6
104 Lesotho 3.6
105 Mozambique 3.6
106 Côte d’Ivoire 3.5
107 Botswana 3.5
108 Cambodia 3.4
109 Egypt 3.4
110 Ethiopia 3.4
111 Tanzania 3.4
112 Benin 3.4
113 Libya 3.4
114 Lao PDR 3.4
115 Uganda 3.3
116 Moldova 3.3
117 Myanmar 3.3
118 Kyrgyz Republic 3.3
119 Iran, Islamic Rep. 3.3
120 Paraguay 3.3
121 Cameroon 3.2
122 Guinea 3.2
123 Bangladesh 3.2
124 Yemen 3.2
125 Nepal 3.1
126 Haiti 3.1
127 Kazakhstan 3.0
128 Mauritania 3.0
129 Zambia 3.0
130 Malawi 3.0
131 Angola 2.8
132 Mali 2.7
133 Venezuela 2.7
134 Zimbabwe 2.5
135 Burkina Faso 2.4
136 Burundi 2.4
137 Mongolia 2.4
138 Chad 2.1
* Since this subindex is made up of only one pillar, data for this subindex and pillar 3 are
identical.
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 23. The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 | 13
Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
Table 4: Infrastructure subindex rankings
Infrastructure subindex
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
1 Singapore 6.1
2 Hong Kong SAR 6.0
3 Netherlands 6.0
4 United Kingdom 6.0
5 Japan 5.9
6 Germany 5.9
7 Korea, Rep. 5.8
8 United States 5.8
9 France 5.8
10 United Arab Emirates 5.8
11 Switzerland 5.7
12 Spain 5.6
13 Luxembourg 5.6
14 Finland 5.5
15 Taiwan, China 5.5
16 Denmark 5.5
17 Sweden 5.5
18 Belgium 5.4
19 Austria 5.3
20 Australia 5.2
21 Norway 5.2
22 Canada 5.2
23 Malaysia 5.1
24 Qatar 5.1
25 New Zealand 5.0
26 Portugal 5.0
27 Ireland 4.9
28 Czech Republic 4.9
29 Bahrain 4.9
30 Iceland 4.8
31 Malta 4.8
32 Italy 4.8
33 Israel 4.8
34 Estonia 4.6
35 Slovenia 4.6
36 China 4.6
37 Saudi Arabia 4.5
38 Oman 4.5
39 Lithuania 4.5
40 Slovak Republic 4.4
41 Latvia 4.4
42 Croatia 4.4
43 Hungary 4.4
44 Chile 4.4
45 Panama 4.3
46 Thailand 4.3
47 Turkey 4.3
48 Cyprus 4.3
49 Poland 4.3
50 Morocco 4.2
51 Greece 4.2
52 Russian Federation 4.2
53 Kazakhstan 4.2
54 South Africa 4.2
55 Bulgaria 4.1
56 Mauritius 4.1
57 Kuwait 4.1
58 Egypt 4.0
59 Jordan 3.9
60 Vietnam 3.9
61 Ukraine 3.9
62 Azerbaijan 3.9
63 Mexico 3.9
64 Indonesia 3.9
65 Montenegro 3.9
66 Brazil 3.9
67 India 3.8
68 Romania 3.8
69 Serbia 3.8
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
70 El Salvador 3.8
71 Georgia 3.8
72 Dominican Republic 3.7
73 Armenia 3.7
74 Lebanon 3.7
75 Jamaica 3.7
76 Argentina 3.7
77 Tunisia 3.7
78 Guatemala 3.7
79 Uruguay 3.6
80 Macedonia, FYR 3.6
81 Ecuador 3.6
82 Namibia 3.5
83 Sri Lanka 3.5
84 Colombia 3.5
85 Costa Rica 3.5
86 Botswana 3.5
87 Moldova 3.5
88 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.4
89 Philippines 3.4
90 Albania 3.4
91 Peru 3.4
92 Iran, Islamic Rep. 3.4
93 Kenya 3.3
94 Pakistan 3.3
95 Ghana 3.2
96 Rwanda 3.1
97 Paraguay 3.1
98 Mali 3.1
99 Gambia, The 3.1
100 Venezuela 3.1
101 Cambodia 3.1
102 Senegal 3.1
103 Mongolia 3.0
104 Kyrgyz Republic 3.0
105 Bolivia 3.0
106 Honduras 3.0
107 Zimbabwe 3.0
108 Côte d’Ivoire 3.0
109 Bhutan 3.0
110 Nigeria 2.9
111 Nicaragua 2.9
112 Algeria 2.9
113 Zambia 2.9
114 Guyana 2.9
115 Lao PDR 2.9
116 Ethiopia 2.8
117 Lesotho 2.8
118 Libya 2.8
119 Bangladesh 2.8
120 Uganda 2.7
121 Malawi 2.7
122 Burkina Faso 2.7
123 Nepal 2.7
124 Gabon 2.7
125 Cameroon 2.6
126 Benin 2.6
127 Tanzania 2.5
128 Mauritania 2.5
129 Madagascar 2.5
130 Liberia 2.5
131 Yemen 2.5
132 Mozambique 2.4
133 Burundi 2.4
134 Angola 2.3
135 Haiti 2.2
136 Myanmar 2.1
137 Guinea 2.1
138 Chad 2.1
Pillar 4: Availability and quality of transport infrastructure
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
1 United Arab Emirates 6.5
2 Singapore 6.5
3 Hong Kong SAR 6.5
4 France 6.3
5 Germany 6.3
6 Spain 6.1
7 Japan 6.0
8 United States 6.0
9 Netherlands 6.0
10 United Kingdom 5.9
11 Korea, Rep. 5.7
12 Switzerland 5.7
13 Taiwan, China 5.4
14 Malaysia 5.3
15 Belgium 5.2
16 China 5.1
17 Luxembourg 5.0
18 Austria 5.0
19 Canada 4.9
20 Finland 4.8
21 Portugal 4.8
22 Italy 4.8
23 Denmark 4.8
24 Australia 4.5
25 Czech Republic 4.5
26 Turkey 4.5
27 Oman 4.4
28 Thailand 4.4
29 Malta 4.4
30 Qatar 4.4
31 Panama 4.4
32 Bahrain 4.4
33 Ireland 4.3
34 India 4.3
35 Sweden 4.3
36 Morocco 4.3
37 Mauritius 4.2
38 Saudi Arabia 4.1
39 New Zealand 4.1
40 Israel 4.0
41 Cyprus 4.0
42 Russian Federation 3.9
43 Slovenia 3.9
44 Norway 3.9
45 Azerbaijan 3.9
46 Jamaica 3.9
47 Lebanon 3.8
48 South Africa 3.8
49 Egypt 3.8
50 Iceland 3.8
51 Croatia 3.8
52 Slovak Republic 3.8
53 Dominican Republic 3.7
54 Jordan 3.7
55 Ukraine 3.7
56 Georgia 3.7
57 Kuwait 3.6
58 Mexico 3.6
59 Lithuania 3.6
60 Indonesia 3.6
61 Kazakhstan 3.6
62 Sri Lanka 3.6
63 Greece 3.5
64 Chile 3.5
65 Iran, Islamic Rep. 3.5
66 Hungary 3.4
67 Pakistan 3.4
68 Namibia 3.4
69 Armenia 3.4
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
70 Tunisia 3.4
71 Bulgaria 3.3
72 Guatemala 3.3
73 Latvia 3.3
74 Vietnam 3.3
75 El Salvador 3.3
76 Poland 3.3
77 Rwanda 3.2
78 Estonia 3.2
79 Botswana 3.1
80 Ecuador 3.1
81 Montenegro 3.1
82 Macedonia, FYR 3.0
83 Gambia, The 3.0
84 Mali 3.0
85 Kenya 2.9
86 Moldova 2.9
87 Zimbabwe 2.8
88 Senegal 2.8
89 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2.8
90 Bhutan 2.8
91 Lao PDR 2.8
92 Algeria 2.7
93 Ethiopia 2.7
94 Ghana 2.7
95 Argentina 2.7
96 Philippines 2.7
97 Lesotho 2.7
98 Zambia 2.7
99 Romania 2.7
100 Malawi 2.7
101 Peru 2.7
102 Brazil 2.7
103 Serbia 2.6
104 Honduras 2.6
105 Kyrgyz Republic 2.6
106 Côte d’Ivoire 2.6
107 Uruguay 2.6
108 Nicaragua 2.6
109 Libya 2.6
110 Bolivia 2.5
111 Paraguay 2.5
112 Colombia 2.5
113 Cambodia 2.5
114 Cameroon 2.5
115 Uganda 2.4
116 Albania 2.4
117 Costa Rica 2.4
118 Guyana 2.4
119 Nigeria 2.4
120 Bangladesh 2.3
121 Nepal 2.3
122 Burundi 2.3
123 Burkina Faso 2.3
124 Madagascar 2.3
125 Mongolia 2.3
126 Mozambique 2.3
127 Venezuela 2.2
128 Tanzania 2.2
129 Gabon 2.2
130 Mauritania 2.1
131 Yemen 2.1
132 Liberia 2.1
133 Benin 2.1
134 Angola 2.1
135 Haiti 1.9
136 Chad 1.9
137 Guinea 1.9
138 Myanmar 1.8
(Cont’d.)
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 24. Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
14 | The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014
Table 4: Infrastructure subindex rankings (cont’d.)
Pillar 5: Availability and quality of transport services
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
1 Singapore 5.7
2 Netherlands 5.7
3 Germany 5.7
4 Japan 5.7
5 Hong Kong SAR 5.7
6 Belgium 5.7
7 Sweden 5.6
8 Switzerland 5.6
9 United Kingdom 5.6
10 Luxembourg 5.6
11 United States 5.5
12 Taiwan, China 5.5
13 Canada 5.4
14 Norway 5.4
15 France 5.4
16 Spain 5.4
17 Finland 5.4
18 Korea, Rep. 5.4
19 Ireland 5.3
20 Australia 5.3
21 Denmark 5.3
22 Qatar 5.3
23 Austria 5.2
24 Portugal 5.2
25 New Zealand 5.2
26 Malaysia 5.1
27 United Arab Emirates 5.1
28 Iceland 5.0
29 Czech Republic 5.0
30 Slovenia 4.9
31 China 4.8
32 Latvia 4.8
33 Israel 4.8
34 Italy 4.8
35 Hungary 4.7
36 Turkey 4.7
37 Estonia 4.7
38 Poland 4.7
39 Thailand 4.7
40 Malta 4.6
41 Slovak Republic 4.6
42 Lithuania 4.6
43 Chile 4.6
44 Saudi Arabia 4.5
45 Cyprus 4.5
46 Bahrain 4.5
47 Romania 4.5
48 Croatia 4.5
49 South Africa 4.5
50 Vietnam 4.4
51 Bulgaria 4.4
52 Panama 4.4
53 Morocco 4.3
54 Greece 4.3
55 Serbia 4.3
56 Oman 4.3
57 India 4.3
58 Indonesia 4.3
59 Mexico 4.2
60 Brazil 4.2
61 Ukraine 4.2
62 Jordan 4.2
63 El Salvador 4.1
64 Kenya 4.1
65 Kazakhstan 4.1
66 Montenegro 4.1
67 Mauritius 4.0
68 Namibia 4.0
69 Rwanda 4.0
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
70 Guatemala 4.0
71 Ecuador 4.0
72 Egypt 4.0
73 Argentina 4.0
74 Albania 3.9
75 Kuwait 3.9
76 Armenia 3.9
77 Peru 3.9
78 Pakistan 3.9
79 Sri Lanka 3.9
80 Tunisia 3.9
81 Jamaica 3.9
82 Russian Federation 3.8
83 Costa Rica 3.8
84 Philippines 3.8
85 Dominican Republic 3.8
86 Ethiopia 3.8
87 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.8
88 Colombia 3.7
89 Uruguay 3.7
90 Iran, Islamic Rep. 3.7
91 Moldova 3.7
92 Nigeria 3.7
93 Uganda 3.7
94 Malawi 3.6
95 Lebanon 3.6
96 Nicaragua 3.6
97 Cambodia 3.6
98 Côte d’Ivoire 3.6
99 Georgia 3.6
100 Macedonia, FYR 3.6
101 Azerbaijan 3.6
102 Ghana 3.6
103 Bangladesh 3.6
104 Senegal 3.6
105 Burkina Faso 3.6
106 Botswana 3.5
107 Lao PDR 3.5
108 Paraguay 3.5
109 Guyana 3.5
110 Gambia, The 3.5
111 Mali 3.5
112 Bhutan 3.4
113 Zambia 3.4
114 Bolivia 3.4
115 Algeria 3.4
116 Nepal 3.4
117 Liberia 3.4
118 Honduras 3.3
119 Burundi 3.3
120 Lesotho 3.3
121 Venezuela 3.3
122 Benin 3.3
123 Madagascar 3.2
124 Yemen 3.2
125 Cameroon 3.2
126 Zimbabwe 3.2
127 Tanzania 3.1
128 Kyrgyz Republic 3.1
129 Mongolia 3.0
130 Chad 3.0
131 Guinea 3.0
132 Mozambique 2.9
133 Myanmar 2.9
134 Angola 2.9
135 Gabon 2.9
136 Mauritania 2.8
137 Libya 2.8
138 Haiti 2.7
Pillar 6: Availability and use of ICTs
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
1 Sweden 6.5
2 United Kingdom 6.4
3 Finland 6.4
4 Netherlands 6.4
5 Denmark 6.4
6 Korea, Rep. 6.4
7 Norway 6.4
8 Singapore 6.2
9 Luxembourg 6.1
10 Japan 6.0
11 Hong Kong SAR 6.0
12 Estonia 6.0
13 United States 5.9
14 Switzerland 5.9
15 Australia 5.9
16 New Zealand 5.8
17 Bahrain 5.8
18 Austria 5.8
19 Taiwan, China 5.7
20 Iceland 5.7
21 Germany 5.7
22 France 5.7
23 United Arab Emirates 5.6
24 Israel 5.6
25 Qatar 5.6
26 Belgium 5.4
27 Malta 5.4
28 Canada 5.3
29 Spain 5.3
30 Lithuania 5.2
31 Czech Republic 5.2
32 Latvia 5.2
33 Ireland 5.2
34 Hungary 5.1
35 Slovenia 5.0
36 Chile 5.0
37 Portugal 5.0
38 Malaysia 5.0
39 Croatia 5.0
40 Saudi Arabia 5.0
41 Poland 4.9
42 Kazakhstan 4.9
43 Slovak Republic 4.9
44 Russian Federation 4.9
45 Italy 4.9
46 Greece 4.8
47 Oman 4.7
48 Brazil 4.7
49 Bulgaria 4.7
50 Uruguay 4.6
51 Kuwait 4.6
52 Montenegro 4.5
53 Cyprus 4.5
54 Serbia 4.4
55 Argentina 4.4
56 Colombia 4.3
57 Panama 4.3
58 Macedonia, FYR 4.3
59 Romania 4.3
60 Egypt 4.2
61 Azerbaijan 4.2
62 Costa Rica 4.2
63 South Africa 4.2
64 Vietnam 4.1
65 Morocco 4.1
66 Mauritius 4.1
67 Jordan 4.0
68 Georgia 4.0
69 El Salvador 4.0
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
70 Ukraine 3.9
71 Thailand 3.9
72 Armenia 3.8
73 Mexico 3.8
74 Albania 3.8
75 Turkey 3.8
76 Tunisia 3.8
77 Moldova 3.8
78 Mongolia 3.8
79 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.8
80 Ecuador 3.8
81 Indonesia 3.7
82 China 3.7
83 Dominican Republic 3.7
84 Botswana 3.7
85 Philippines 3.7
86 Guatemala 3.7
87 Venezuela 3.7
88 Lebanon 3.6
89 Peru 3.6
90 Kyrgyz Republic 3.4
91 Jamaica 3.4
92 Paraguay 3.4
93 Ghana 3.1
94 Bolivia 3.1
95 Cambodia 3.1
96 Namibia 3.1
97 Sri Lanka 3.1
98 Honduras 3.0
99 Kenya 3.0
100 Libya 3.0
101 Zimbabwe 3.0
102 Gabon 3.0
103 Iran, Islamic Rep. 2.9
104 India 2.9
105 Senegal 2.9
106 Mali 2.8
107 Nigeria 2.8
108 Guyana 2.8
109 Gambia, The 2.8
110 Côte d’Ivoire 2.7
111 Nicaragua 2.7
112 Bhutan 2.6
113 Mauritania 2.6
114 Zambia 2.6
115 Algeria 2.6
116 Pakistan 2.5
117 Benin 2.4
118 Bangladesh 2.4
119 Lesotho 2.4
120 Nepal 2.3
121 Cameroon 2.3
122 Lao PDR 2.3
123 Tanzania 2.2
124 Rwanda 2.2
125 Burkina Faso 2.2
126 Yemen 2.1
127 Uganda 2.1
128 Mozambique 2.0
129 Angola 2.0
130 Madagascar 2.0
131 Ethiopia 2.0
132 Liberia 2.0
133 Haiti 1.9
134 Malawi 1.9
135 Myanmar 1.6
136 Guinea 1.5
137 Burundi 1.5
138 Chad 1.5
© 2014 World Economic Forum
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Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
to two-thirds of the world’s least-developed countries,
obtains the lowest average score in six of the seven
pillars of the index. Only three countries, Mauritius
(29th), South Africa (59th) and Rwanda (66th), of the
30 covered in this region, feature in the first half of the
overall ETI ranking.
Average performances necessarily conceal
significant differences within groups. Figure 5 shows
the performance gap in the overall ETI between the
highest- and lowest- ranked economies, as well as the
median ETI rank in each region. The diagram reveals the
existence of regional champions: Chile (8th overall) in
Latin America and the Caribbean; the UAE (16th) in
the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan region;
Malaysia (25th) in Developing Asia; Mauritius in Sub-
Saharan Africa; Georgia in the CIS region and Latvia
in Central and Eastern Europe.7
In the case of Chile,
the UAE, Malaysia and Mauritius, more than 100 places
separate them from the lowest-ranked economy of their
respective regions.
While such vast disparities necessarily represent a
major obstacle to South-South trade, the fact that certain
emerging and developing countries have managed to
rise to the level of advanced economies is encouraging.
In challenging environments and despite adverse factors,
policies, targeted investments and other measures aimed
at enabling trade can make a difference. These should
primarily be targeted at those areas where relatively
small investments can quickly generate sizeable gains.
Border administration is therefore an area of choice
for reforms towards enabling trade (see Box 5).
Improving information disclosure or making it possible
to clear shipments via electronic data interchange is
relatively easy to implement. Regional cooperation,
sharing of good practices adapted to the regional
context, capacity building and technical assistance
programmes are critical enablers for generating such
quick wins.
Transport infrastructure (pillar 4) is one of the
areas where the performance gaps between advanced
economies and the rest of the world are the widest
(see Figure 4). Transport infrastructure is far more
costly and time-consuming to deploy and upgrade than
improving border administration. However, the benefits
extend well beyond enhancing a country’s capacity
to fully reap the benefits of trade. Improved transport
infrastructure helps create new business opportunities,
connect producers and consumers, and reduce time
to market. It is a critical driver of human development,
competitiveness and growth.
Digital connectivity (pillar 6) can go a long way in
filling critical information gaps. The use of information
and communication technologies (ICTs) by border and
customs agencies results in enormous productivity
gains, which benefits government and businesses.
They also help connect producers and customers
along supply chains. Indeed, according to the pool of
Table 5: Operating environment subindex rankings
Pillar 7: Operating environment
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
1 Hong Kong SAR 5.8
2 Singapore 5.8
3 Finland 5.8
4 Qatar 5.7
5 Switzerland 5.7
6 Luxembourg 5.6
7 New Zealand 5.6
8 Netherlands 5.5
9 Sweden 5.5
10 Norway 5.5
11 United Kingdom 5.4
12 Germany 5.4
13 United Arab Emirates 5.3
14 Austria 5.3
15 Canada 5.2
16 Belgium 5.2
17 Oman 5.2
18 Taiwan, China 5.2
19 Australia 5.2
20 Ireland 5.1
21 Denmark 5.1
22 Japan 5.1
23 Estonia 5.1
24 United States 5.0
25 Chile 5.0
26 Malta 5.0
27 Malaysia 5.0
28 Bahrain 5.0
29 Cyprus 5.0
30 France 4.9
31 Iceland 4.8
32 Mauritius 4.8
33 Rwanda 4.8
34 Saudi Arabia 4.7
35 Jordan 4.6
36 Uruguay 4.6
37 China 4.6
38 Panama 4.6
39 Portugal 4.6
40 Israel 4.5
41 Spain 4.5
42 Zambia 4.5
43 Macedonia, FYR 4.5
44 Latvia 4.5
45 Morocco 4.5
46 Costa Rica 4.5
47 Armenia 4.4
48 Georgia 4.4
49 Slovak Republic 4.4
50 Poland 4.4
51 Montenegro 4.4
52 Gambia, The 4.4
53 Sri Lanka 4.4
54 Lithuania 4.4
55 Korea, Rep. 4.3
56 Turkey 4.3
57 South Africa 4.3
58 Azerbaijan 4.3
59 Slovenia 4.3
60 Czech Republic 4.3
61 Indonesia 4.2
62 Botswana 4.2
63 Kuwait 4.2
64 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4.2
65 Italy 4.2
66 Hungary 4.2
67 Kazakhstan 4.2
68 Lao PDR 4.2
69 Croatia 4.1
Score
Rank Country/Economy (1–7)
70 Namibia 4.1
71 Ghana 4.1
72 Bhutan 4.1
73 India 4.1
74 Cambodia 4.1
75 Thailand 4.1
76 Tunisia 4.0
77 Senegal 4.0
78 Liberia 4.0
79 Greece 4.0
80 Peru 4.0
81 Vietnam 4.0
82 Philippines 4.0
83 Bulgaria 4.0
84 Romania 3.9
85 Albania 3.9
86 Nicaragua 3.9
87 Cameroon 3.9
88 Ecuador 3.9
89 Kenya 3.9
90 Brazil 3.9
91 Guyana 3.8
92 Jamaica 3.8
93 Paraguay 3.8
94 Guatemala 3.8
95 Uganda 3.8
96 Bolivia 3.8
97 Mexico 3.8
98 Lesotho 3.7
99 Bangladesh 3.7
100 Moldova 3.7
101 Tanzania 3.7
102 Lebanon 3.7
103 Ukraine 3.7
104 Serbia 3.7
105 Mongolia 3.7
106 Egypt 3.7
107 Gabon 3.6
108 Malawi 3.6
109 Mozambique 3.6
110 Dominican Republic 3.6
111 Côte d’Ivoire 3.6
112 Colombia 3.6
113 Nepal 3.5
114 El Salvador 3.5
115 Ethiopia 3.5
116 Pakistan 3.5
117 Madagascar 3.5
118 Mali 3.5
119 Russian Federation 3.5
120 Honduras 3.5
121 Kyrgyz Republic 3.4
122 Burkina Faso 3.4
123 Benin 3.4
124 Argentina 3.4
125 Iran, Islamic Rep. 3.4
126 Zimbabwe 3.3
127 Mauritania 3.3
128 Nigeria 3.3
129 Guinea 3.3
130 Algeria 3.3
131 Haiti 3.3
132 Libya 3.1
133 Burundi 3.1
134 Myanmar 2.9
135 Angola 2.9
136 Yemen 2.9
137 Chad 2.8
138 Venezuela 2.6
* Since this subindex is made up of only one pillar, data for this subindex and pillar 7 are
identical.
© 2014 World Economic Forum
- 26. Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
16 | The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014
Box 5: Border Administration: The Low-Hanging Fruit of Enabling Trade
Improving the efficiency and transparency of border
administration is at the core of the Agreement on Trade
Facilitation adopted in Bali. This aspect is often perceived as
a quick win for boosting trade, as the benefits significantly
outweigh the cost of the necessary reforms.
When studying the dispersion of results across the four
main dimensions of the Enabling Trade Index 2014, the border
administration subindex scores exhibit the largest standard
deviation (equal to 1.0, same as for the infrastructure subindex
scores) and the biggest score differential between the
best- (Singapore) and worst- (Chad) performing economies.
This suggests huge scope for improvement in this area in
developing countries. These have the most to gain from a
speedy ratification and effective implementation of the trade
facilitation agreement adopted in Bali, whereas advanced
economies already operate at a very high level of efficiency
and transparency.
For a more granular analysis, Table 1 reports the
performance of selected country groups on the border
administration pillar and its eleven indicators, expressed as
a ratio of the group average value to the best score on each
indicator. The gaps are the widest in the Global Express
Association’s Customs Services Index, a survey of the
quality of information and services provided by agencies;
in the World Bank’s indicator capturing the efficiency of the
clearance process; and in terms of irregular payments. The
number of procedures required to import and to export goods
also varies greatly.
But there is a silver lining amidst this mixed picture.
Compared with other indicators in the ETI (within the market
access, infrastructure and operating environment subindexes),
modernizing border administration is relatively less costly and
less time-consuming. It is also politically easier, because less
controversial, as attested by the Bali agreement adopted at
a tumultuous time for international governance. Therefore,
above all, it requires political will. But it also requires
upgrading the capacity and skills of personnel and agencies.
Indeed, the Bali Package stresses the importance of technical
assistance and capacity building programmes in achieving
successful implementation of the agreement.
Moreover, improvements on a specific indicator
of the border administration pillar are likely to have a
positive spillover effect on other indicators of this pillar.
For instance, reducing paperwork and red tape reduces
room for discretionary measures and irregular payments
throughout the importing/exporting process. Improving border
administration brings fiscal advantages for the government,
by bringing down the costs associated with collecting duties,
thus increasing profit margins.
In addition, there are examples of economies performing
relatively well (above the sample average) on the border
administration pillar, despite struggling on other ETI indicators
assessing broader institutional aspects. Such is the case in
a number of Latin American countries: Mexico ranks 62nd
on the border administration pillar and 97th on the operating
environment pillar; Dominican Republic ranks 63rd and
110th, respectively; Colombia, 68th and 112th. Elsewhere,
Korea ranks 19th in terms of border administration, but a
low 55th on the operating environment and Georgia ranks
35th and 71st, respectively. This suggests it is possible to
reform border administration amidst a challenging overall
environment.
Group
PILLAR3:
BORDER
ADMINISTRATION
Customsservices
index
Efficiencyofthe
clearanceprocess
No.ofdays
toimport
No.ofdocuments
toimport
Costtoimport
No.ofdays
toexport
No.ofdocuments
toexport
Costtoexport
Irregularpayments
inexportsand
imports
Timepredictability
ofimport
procedures
Customs
transparencyindex
INCOMEGROUP
High-income: OECD 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.9
High-income: non OECD 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.8
Upper-middle income 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.8
Lower-middle income 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.8 0.4 0.9 0.8 0.4 0.9 0.3 0.4 0.7
Low income 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.2 0.3 0.5
REGION
Advanced Economies 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.9
Central and Eastern Europe 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.5 0.5 0.8
MENAP 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.8 0.5 0.9 0.9 0.5 0.9 0.4 0.4 0.8
Latin America & Caribbean 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.3 0.4 0.8
Developing Asia 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.4 0.9 0.8 0.4 0.9 0.3 0.4 0.6
CIS 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.8
Sub-Saharan Africa 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.6
SELECTEDAGREEMENTS
EU 28 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.9
GGC 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.9 0.5 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.8
ASEAN 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.8 0.5 1.0 0.8 0.5 0.9 0.2 0.5 0.5
SACU 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.5 1.0
SAFTA 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.9 0.7 0.3 0.9 0.2 0.4 0.7
MERCOSUR 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.7
Best Performer Singapore Singapore Norway Singapore Multiple Singapore Multiple Multiple Malaysia
New
Zealand Finland Multiple
Table 1: Border administration: performance gap between selected groups and best performers in pillar components
Scores correspond to the ratio of group average values to best performing economy’s values
© 2014 World Economic Forum
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Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
some 13,000 business executives who participated in
the Executive Opinion Survey 2013, at the global level,
identifying potential buyers is the most problematic factor
for exporting. The benefits to society of improved ICT
infrastructure are considerable. It facilitates the delivery
of basic services, including education and financial
services, creates new business models, and improves
the transparency and accountability of administrations,
thus contributing to better governance, to name just
a few.
Yet the digital divide remains profound between
advanced economies and the rest of the world (see
Figure 4). Although mobile telephony is ubiquitous in
most parts of the world, the capacity to fully leverage
ICTs remains extremely limited in vast swaths of
the developing world, owing to the lack of skills,
infrastructure and equipment, digital content, affordability
and political will (World Economic Forum, 2013). As of
2012, only one in ten individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa
used the Internet on a regular basis, and there was
less than one broadband Internet subscription per 100
population. The situation is slightly better in Developing
Asia, the second-worst performing region in the ICTs
pillar. Most governments and administrations have yet to
adopt new technology. Not surprisingly, businesses are
the most prompt at adopting new technologies. Due to
advances in innovation, more competition and ever-falling
costs and tariffs, one can expect the uptake in ICTs
worldwide to increase rapidly in the coming years.
Country Highlights
As a complement to the rankings tables, Table 6 reports
the 10 best-performing economies on the overall
Enabling Trade Index and the seven pillars, illustrating
the quality and consistency of their performance across
the index. The table also lists the top 5 by pillar. Below,
we describe the performance of selected countries listed
by region and by rank.8
Asia and the Pacific
For the fourth consecutive edition, Singapore ranks
1st in the ETI. The level and consistency of Singapore’s
performance is outstanding. As shown in Table 6,
Singapore leads in two pillars (border administration
and transport services), features in the top 5 of three
more and ranks 8th and 13th in the remaining two. As
a result, the score differential with second-ranked Hong
Kong SAR is 0.5 points, which is considerable by ETI
standards. One of the world’s leading trading platforms,
the total value of merchandise exported to and imported
from Singapore represented 2.9 times its GDP in 2012.
A champion of government efficiency, Singapore’s
excellent performance in terms of border administration
is reflected in the top result achieved by the country on
the related pillar (Singapore ranks in the top 3 on 10 of
the 11 indicators composing the border administration
pillar). Singapore established the world’s first national
single window for trade (TradeNet) in 1989, bringing
together more than 35 border agencies. As a result of
this focus on efficiency, Singapore Customs estimated
Greece (67)
73
Venezuela (137)
Chile (8)
UAE (16)
Iran (131)
Malaysia (25)
93
111.5
87.5
56
Mongolia (130)
Mauritius (29)
Chad (138)
Georgia (36)
Kyrgyz Rep. (109)
Latvia (41)
Serbia (89)
76
Central and
Eastern Europe
Commonwealth of
Independent States
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Developing
Asia
Middle East,
North Africa,
and Pakistan
Latin America
and the Caribbean
Advanced
Economies
Singapore (1)
20.5
Figure 5: The Enabling Trade Index 2014: Intra-regional performance gaps
Note: Based on IMF classification (see Table 1).
Highest-ranked
Median rank
Lowest-ranked
Rank(outof138)
© 2014 World Economic Forum
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18 | The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014
JEAN-FRANÇOIS ARVIS (World Bank) and BEN SHEPHERD (Developing Trade Consultants Ltd.)
Bilateral trade costs capture all factors that drive a wedge
between the price of goods at the factory or farm gate in
the exporting country and the price paid by a consumer in
the importing country. They, therefore, include factors such
as distance, supply chain inefficiencies, tariff and non-tariff
barriers. Lower trade costs make a country more competitive,
and contribute to its global and regional integration.
The UNESCAP-World Bank bilateral trade costs
database (Arvis et al., 2013) gives trade costs by pair of
countries for the manufacturing and the agricultural sectors.
The authors estimate the breakdown of trade costs by source
of cost (see Figure 1). Expectedly, distance is a major source
of trade costs, but logistics performance and connectivity are
at least as important, and more so than tariffs. Developing
countries face much higher trade costs in part due to the
importance of policy in addressing the sources of trade costs.
For example, regulation of transport and distribution markets,
as well as trade policy measures, affect the level of trade
costs, and are often more restrictive in developing countries
than in developed ones.
Some trade costs are exogenous, in the sense that
they are largely outside a country’s control. Geographical
remoteness is an example. Other types of trade costs are
endogenous, which means that they are primarily related to
national policies. This means that policy reforms can do much
to reduce trade costs and boost trade integration, especially
measures that improve connectivity and logistics performance.
The Enabling Trade Index (ETI) captures most of the
policy measures that influence trade costs. Expectedly,
economies with a higher ETI score experience much lower
trade costs (see Figure 2), in large part due to these enabling
policies. The effect is quite strong—on average, a one-point
increase in the ETI score is associated with a reduction of
40% in trade costs.
Reference
Arvis, J.-F., Y. Duval, B. Shepherd, and C. Utoktham. 2013. “Trade
Costs in the Developing World.” Policy Research Working Paper
No. 6309, World Bank. Access the UNESCAP-World Bank trade
costs database at http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/trade-
costs-dataset.
Box 6: Logistics Inefficiencies a Primary Source of Trade Costs
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Zimbabwe
Hungary
Singapore
Belgium
Germany
Hong Kong SAR
Armenia Rwanda
Gambia
Burundi
Figure 2: Relationship between the Enabling Trade Index, 2014, and average trade costs, 2010
Sources: Arvis et al, 2013, and World Economic Forum.
Note: Only the 115 economies included both in the ETI and the trade costs database are represented.
ETI2014score(1–7)
Trade costs (% ad valorem)
–0.50 -0.375 –0.25 –0.125 0.00 0.125 0.25 0.375 0.50
Cost of Starting a Business
Logistics Performance Index
Air Connectivity
Liner Shipping Connectivity
Exchange Rate
RTA
Tariffs
Same Country
Common Colonizer
Colony
Common Language (Official)
Common Language (Ethno.)
Common Border
Distance
Figure 1: Relative impact of different sources of trade costs
Source: Arvis et al, 2013.
Note: For each component, the represented score corresponds to the group average value to the best performing economy’s value.
Exogenous factor
Endogenous factor
Standardized regression coefficients
© 2014 World Economic Forum
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Chapter 1: The Enabling Trade Index 2014
that in 2012, the cost per Singaporean dollar of duty it
collected was a mere 1.15 cents, a margin of 98.9%.9
Hong Kong SAR ranks 2nd overall for the fourth
edition in a row, as a result of an excellent performance
across the board. The territory is arguably the world’s
most open market: it does not levy any customs tariff
on imports or exports. There is also no tariff quota or
surcharge, no value-added taxes or general services
taxes. Hong Kong’s exporters do not enjoy a similar
level of openness abroad. They face on average among
the highest tariffs in the world (135th). Hong Kong ranks
39th in terms of GDP but is the world’s 9th largest
exporter. The volume of merchandise traded through
the territory amounted to four times its GDP in 2012.
In general, Hong Kong offers the world’s friendliest
operating environment for traders and businesses. It
boasts world-class transport infrastructure, combined
with excellent logistics and transport services. These
features contribute to making Hong Kong one of the
most connected places on the planet.
Japan ranks 15th overall in the ETI and 3rd in
Asia behind the two frontrunners. While the country’s
performance is strong overall, it is uneven across
the different areas. Japan ranks 5th in the border
administration pillar and in the top 10 of each of the three
infrastructure-related pillars. In particular, it places 4th
for the availability of transport and logistics services. By
contrast, Japan ranks last in the foreign market access
pillar. Its exporters face tariffs of 6% on average—one
of the highest rates among the 138 economies studied
(133rd) - and enjoy almost no preferential treatment
(138th). Domestically, Japan applies relatively low tariffs,
but this is undermined by the complexity of its tariff
regime (103rd). The county’s operating environment is
favourable (22nd), but certainly not to the same degree
as Singapore or Hong Kong SAR. Red tape (75th) and
limited openness to foreign participation (66th)—in
particular, for hiring foreign labour (109th)—are the
country’s two main weaknesses within this pillar.
Far below its neighbour New Zealand (4th), Australia
ranks 23rd overall, as a result of a very consistent
performance across the indicators of the index. The
country ranks no better than 15th—in ICT use—but no
lower than 24th—in transport infrastructure—in six of
the seven pillars. However, Australia is penalized by a
low score in the foreign market access pillar (134th),
reflecting the high tariffs faced abroad by Australian
exporters. The country possesses excellent transport
infrastructure overall, but port (40th) and railroad (32nd)
infrastructures are strained by the boom in exports of
various minerals, including coal and iron ore, of which
the country is the world’s largest exporter, resulting
in bottlenecks. Border administration (22nd) is very
efficient, although room for improvement remains in
terms of the cost and number of documents required to
import and export. The fees associated with shipping a
container from Australia (US$ 1,170) are approximately
US$ 300 more than in New Zealand and almost three
times as much as in Singapore.
Malaysia (25th) ranks second within ASEAN,
behind Singapore. It is the best-performing country in
the Developing Asia region, almost 30 places ahead of
Table 6: Performance of the ETI 2014 top 10 countries and presence in the top 5 by pillar
Country/Economy
OVERALL
ETI
1. Domestic
market access
2. Foreign
market access
3. Efficiency
and transparency
of border
administration
4. Availability
and quality
of transport
infrastructure
5. Availability
and quality of
transport services
6. Availability
and use of ICTs
7. Operating
environment
Number
of times
in top 5
Singapore 1 3 13 1 2 1 8 2 5
Hong Kong SAR 2 1 135 11 3 5 11 1 4
Netherlands 3 46 97 4 9 2 4 8 3
New Zealand 4 5 65 6 39 25 16 7 1
Finland 5 46 97 2 20 17 3 3 3
United Kingdom 6 46 97 7 10 9 2 11 1
Switzerland 7 85 71 12 12 8 14 5 1
Chile 8 9 2 26 64 43 36 25 1
Sweden 9 46 97 3 35 7 1 9 2
Germany 10 46 97 13 5 3 21 12 2
Japan 13 — — 5 — 4 — — 2
United Arab Emirates 16 — — — 1 — — — 1
Denmark 17 — — — — — 5 — 1
Qatar 19 — — — — — — 4 1
France 21 — — — 4 — — — 1
Mauritius 29 4 5 — — — — — 2
Cambodia 93 — 1 — — — — — 1
Lao PDR 98 — 4 — — — — — 1
Libya 106 1 — — — — — — 1
Nepal 116 — 3 — — — — — 1
© 2014 World Economic Forum